Fashion Industry: Time for checks and changes in policies

To date, the fashion industry has worked on a lag system. The designers display clothes that leave you in awe and craving for more, and they are extremely desirable. But then, reality dawns, and you realize that whatever is being displayed will not be available in stores for the next six months. The problem has been often discussed by the industry stalwarts. Designers have interpreted that customers do not want to wait for the collection anymore. It has been argued that with the advent of social media, the collection reaches the customer before it hits the stores.

Change is policies: An urgent need?

This has made design brands like Hilfiger, Burberry, and Tom Ford change their policies. They have decided that they will alter their schedules so that what customers see on the runway is what they see in the stores later. Designer Rebecca Minkoff was one of the first people to alter her schedule. When the temperature was on the lower scale, she displayed a beautiful, white summer dress.

But the real question that remains is, do we really need this change? Are consumers as eager and impatient as the designers assume they are? What price is the consumer ready to pay? If they wait, will they respond as expected? These and some similar questions still hover around the fashion industry. To attract more people, designers have planned unique fashion shows and have even ditched the runway. Diane von Furstenberg showed her clothes in her Meatpacking District headquarters. Models wore 70s-style jumpsuits, floral-printed dresses, and sequined evening pants. Tracy Reese unveiled her collection via a film called “A Detroit Love Song.” But was all that worth it?

Collections and the mindset of fashion industry need an overhaul

Designers are aiming to offer viewers with a more interactive way of understanding their work. They have live-streamed shows, unveiled the collection at a dinner party, and even released it on Tumblr. But the real point has been missed amongst all this. Is the right problem being tackled? All the queries hover around logistics. Everybody is discussing the when, how, and where of the collection but not the collection itself. Are the clothes really dynamic? Wouldn’t the customer wait if the collection were highly enthralling? None of the designers are pondering whether the quality of the collection needs to be revalued.

Maybe the bigger problem is that the fashion industry has constantly failed in grabbing customers’ attentions. Everyone wants to make it easy for the shopkeeper, but no one is bothered to woo them. An average collection won’t be successful in making them wait for six months, especially when they have easy social media access. More importance should be given to the effectiveness of the collection. Is it able to make a statement or not? This is the question that needs to be pondered upon by the fashion industry.

Customers want boldly creative clothes. The collection should stir emotions and leave them awestruck. There should be an impactful message worth your collection. The cuts should be neat, aesthetics should be involved, and patterns and prints should be pleasing to the eye. There should be something unusual enough to make it alluring, if not mind-bogglingly different. That is what is expected of designers. We need a creative revolution along with the policies.